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Saving the Net, and maybe saving freedom of speech also.

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I just read a great article here: Saving the Net

But it only grazes an issue I mentioned about Internet Censorship. The subject of why politics and Government are moving to control the net, isn’t just a profit motive, it’s about information control. Everyone was fearing that the recent move to U.N control of the Internet was going to amount to turning over control to governments that would censor the information. But failed to realize that the Republican, and hence far Right-wing, have been attempting to control the information on the internet every bit as, say China or North Korea. They may have been correct, but putting it into a larger venue, particularly a bigger political venue would have delayed any consensus about ‘control’, generations into the future.

US used chemical weapons in Iraq

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Very interesting, US used chemical weapons in Iraq

Who is the tyrant now?

Update: I may have jumped on this Idea too early. The worst part of this is that it was so easy to believe the worst here. I am not surprised with any disaster that the Bush administration may produce. And that is unfair to the generally good folks that work in the government.

Update 2: It’s True US used white phosphorus in Iraq

Compensation Culture and Civil Defence

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In the news today Compensation ‘fears gripping UK’ deals with the so called compensation culture.

But what is the compensation culture, and why does it exist. If you examine the lawsuits that bring about large compensation pay outs. You find at their heart, an institute, or corporation that in their grand arrogance has misplace such valuable items as, quality, service, honesty or truth. Simple things, sure, but elements that have destroyed the public trust in their endeavors.

In a strange sort of way Lawsuits are just another Civil Defense granted to the individual to defend against the mighty. While most people look upon Lawyers as little better than cockroaches. Their place in the defense of civil liberties is generally never recognized.

Hence my concern for the deceptions now used by both the Republicans in the U.S., and British governments to frame the arguments like this:

“Is there a culture of fear about being sued? Yes there is. So examples of good worthwhile voluntary and public service activities don’t take place because of that fear,”

When in reality, the true beneficiary of the “regulate the (compensation) industry” are big business, and government institutes which abuse the public welfare. So under the guise of supporting the public, they defend the corporate infrastructure.

In both countries, the governments have granted tax relief, assured profit, and supported corporate rights over individuals rights to the point where only the lawsuits can be brought to Defend Civil Rights.

ID and a weak God

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I am constantly amazed at the so called Intelligent Design (ID) arguments and all the religious organizations trying to get ID introduced into Science classes as an alternative theory.

I don’t even think that they realize that doing so, shows how weak and human their god is. That ID represents god’s so called OmniPresent, OmniPotent powers in the same vein as a satellite orbit that has to be corrected from time to time.

ID isn’t an assault on Science, it an assault on religion. If you weaken God to the point that you can attribute human behavior to him/her/it then you can make such a god mean anything, represent anything, do anything without reason, or motivation. That kind of god can me corrupted in just the same way as any politician. And that is very easy. It justifies every corruption we see in politics today. God did it, or God told me to do it! It’s Gods way.

If you assume that there is such an OmniPotent God, then there is no reason to believe that everything that is observed in science, by the reasoning that God has granted us, is not as Darwin has predicted. Evolution is as close to fact as we weak humans can determine at this time. We have no other observable ‘facts’ available that can refine this more, yet! That is science, discover more, find more, refine more. Our satellites need constant correction, because is don’t know every thing yet. But we get better at it, every time we work at it. Every time we refine our theories of, well anything we theorize about. Science is probing, and seeking, without prejudice.

And ID is prejudice, and any religion that supports ID is expecting science to be prejudiced in just that same way. Always leaning in one direction, always needing course corrections. Always wrong.

9/11 The Movie

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RTE are showing the 9/11 Movie, Michael Moore’s demonstration of what the American People elected. If only half, hold that, if only 10% of any of this movie is even remotely true. Everyone in the White House should be indicted or impeached.

I couldn’t even watch the entire movie, I couldn’t allow myself to be angry that long. At least I’m not going to permit Bush’s corruption affect my health.

When Empires fall.

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I have been ask before why I get so emotional about politics in the U.S.. I own no property there and no money in the banks. I have family and friends living there in various parts of the country, and I worry about about them. But, I’m safe in a little Republic (who’s still trying to finding itself).

What bothers me the most is watching The Grand Lady fall. It’s like watching the Fall of the Roman Empire in Internet time.

It will be ugly, and painful.

Internet Censorship

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It has come to me just now why the U.S. has tried to block the adoption of the ‘.xxx’ domain. It came to me when reading this article on the BBC Internet child porn block calls.

If there is the xxx domain, and the porn sites moved to this domain. Parental blocking of these sites would be easy.

And hence the real reason. Content could be blocked by domain address, rather than via filtering content. Utilizing filtering, any kind of censorship can me undertaken. You could block anything that is deemed ‘Obscene’. And that is a very soft definition. Any religious, or political subject could be considered obscene, and therefore block-able.

Child porn is only the trojan horse to begin this paradigm shift in thinking.

Now I’m sure this is not a surprise to some, but I just had to state this out-loud.

Interesting how the spellchecker brought up BlackBall along with Block-able. The new McCarthyism?

Follow the money!

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I watched portions of “All the Presidents Men.” last night. And it reminded me of the one statement that should be burned into every reporter, investigator or blogger on the planet.

Follow the Money!

In all this agonizing about the Iraq war, and the motivations for the invasion. No one has ask where the money went, or maybe the Oil? Where is the oil from Iraq going to? Who is profiting from the war, and who has been paying for the support of politicians who support the war?

Just as in the past philosophy, morality and ethics get trumped by Money, greed and selfishness.

Follow the money.

Even the ‘Oil for Aid’ scandal has a American connection. There may have been some people at the U.N. involved. Money can buy anyone. But the financing came from American interests.

You will find the same in Iraq. Follow the oil from Iraq, and you’ll find it in U.S. refineries.
And where is the money, did the Iraqi government receive any of the money? Have the oil riches, enriched the Iraqis, or the Americans.

Follow the money!

Skype’s Encryption

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In this article on Boing Boing Skype’s security reviewed Cory Doctorow states:

It’s a truism in security that a security system that is kept secret is a not secure

I have never hear such a stupid thing in all my life. But he quotes another :

As Bruce Schneier says, “Anyone can design a security system so clever that he can’t think of a way of breaking it,”

Hence the independent review that Skype has performed. The only thing I’d have done differently would have been to have two independent reviews, by people that know crypto.

And this next statement is the icing on the cake:

A much better answer would be for Skype to disclose its code

What a stupid thing to do! This would be the last thing I would do with a secure code. Then you would have a bunch of hackers publishing exploits in days.

I am a supporter of Open Source, since before Cory was a twinkle in his father eye. (known as DECUS) But this one, is just plain dumb Cory.

Term Limits for Congress

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Years ago the ‘Next Big Thing” in Politics was going to be ‘Term Limits’. Whatever became of term limits, I wonder.

Could the Republicans that campaigned so hard for it when the Democrats were in the Majority, now have no stomach for it, now that they are in power.

Maybe it’s time to bring back the concept of term limits. Even the silent Democrats need shaking up in Congress. Time to clean house and throw out the incumbents. Fresh blood, can do no harm there.